The Labor enquirer., 1887-06-11

mouths againt +, and shall publish fuu ex'
tracis from i shortly.
These extracts win show to any man ol
sense such Suspicious things IS INDICATE that
one member Of ths board received Doodle from
the bosses to take their side as against the
men.
On June 4 the order Of expulsion was fol-
lowed up BY ra{cally and infamous secret
circular placing the boycott upon the product
Of the suspended Knights and calling upon
the order at large to see to it that these ten
thousand men were turned out on the streets
to starve. And this because they dare to pro-
test against Cssarism'!
If the Order Of the Knights Of Labor is to
be used to compel toilers to lick the dust from
Powderly's shoes or tramp the streets for
bread, it is time for it to die. This brutal
5lacklisting by the executive board of true
Knights in good standing, Of fair union men,
should be resented at once and in no uncer-
tain tones.
A facsimile Of this infamous order can be
seen at this Office its text is as follows:
[sEAL]
OFFICE GENERAL SECRETARY,
KNIGHTS OF LABOR OF AMERICA,
Philadelphia, Penn, May 20, '87.
7ote officers and members of tie assembly to
whieA this may come, Greeting
The general executive board has this day
decided that the carpets manufactured by E.
S. Higgins & Co., Of New York city, are not
such as said board can recommend consis-
tently to the patron mage of the order. l have
been instructed the enclosed list Of firms are
selling the goods referred to. You are hereby
requested to appoint special committee, call
upon these firms and notify them of the esti-
nation in which these goods are held, and if
deemed expedient inform them that you will
prefer to bestow your patronage with firms
who do not handle such goods. Please report
to this Office as quickly as possible the result
Of your work.
BY order of the c. E. B.
no. w. HAYES, Secretary.
The Brooklyn labor Press gives some more
facts concerning the matter as follows:
How can any other construction but re.
venge and vindictiveness be attributed to the
act of the general executive board in issuing
another private ~ circular to boycott the
goods made at Higgins factory because he
maintains m0'ioLdte his pledge IL embloy none
but Knights Of Labor. The act is one in
violation Of the principles Of the order. No
charge has been made that Mr.. Higgins is
either unfair or dbhonorable. If he had com
mitted any wrong the order recommends arbi
tration, but in his case the rule has been, re-
versed and the order is arbitrary.
1t sa sad commentary that when women
who were Knights of Labor struck in defense
of their honor, the executive board took no
steps to boycott Perkins goods. The General
Master Workman has told the order in many
public circulars hat boycott should never
be resorted to except in extreme cases, and it
IS more than probable that the order, acting
on these teachings, will allow the circular to
die in its infancy.
Already the circular in District Assemblies
!, 10, and ga of Philadelphia has been very
vigorously "tabled."
As soon as it was received in New York
one assembly telegraphed T. V. Powderly as
follows.
"Have received the Hayes Higgins infa-
nous circulars. You had better withdraw
the boycott at once or we'll make trouble for
YOU"
John Morrison has this to saw upon the
matter:
The only thoroughly union carpet factory
in the United States is that Of E. L. Higgins
4 Co., in which are employed only union
hands, receiving the highest average wages,
and where the people are treated better than
in any other factory. At the same time such
firms as that Of the Alexander Smith Carpet
Co.. OF Yonkers, which dehes the Knights Of
Labor, blacklistS, evicts and imprisohs the
members Of the ofder upon which the general
assembly placed an official boycou,is not in.
terfered with by the general executive board
And the New York Central .abor Union,
representing 10000 organized workers, unan-
imously passed these resolutions, introduced
by G. A. Mckay, of Typographical Union
No. 6:
WHEREAS, 1t is reported in the press that
the general executive board of the knights Of
Labor has virtually levied boycott on the
carpet works of E. S. Higgins & Co., which
firm employs none but union hands and pays
the best wages in the trade, for the reason, a
we believe, that the employees Of said firm
dared to do what they considered right
therefore be it
Resol5xd, That we, the Central Labor.
Union, do hereby protest against the said boy
colt and denounce the action Of the general
executive board of the Knights OF Labor as
unjust, arbitrary and uncalled for; and